June primary election is approaching. Find out who’s donating to Merced County candidates

The June 7 primary election is fast approaching and some higher-profile Merced County races are scooping up campaign contributions, according to publicly available campaign finance filings.

The farming and agricultural industries are among the biggest donors this election cycle, contributing an estimated $40,000 to local candidates, records show.

Merced County Board of Supervisors

Scott Silveira, a third-generation dairy farmer and the incumbent for the Merced County Board of Supervisors district 5 seat representing the Los Banos area, received $51,261 in total contributions through Dec. 31, and raised $74,016.63 overall. Records also show Apercen Partners, LLC was the biggest contributor to the campaign, coming in at $4,900 overall last year. Los Banos-based Palazzo Farming also contributed $4,900 last year, as well as other Los Banos businesses The Pentagon Company and RPac. He is no relation to Nicole Silveira, current Supervising Deputy District Attorney and current DA hopeful in the race against incumbent DA Kimberly Lewis.

Daron McDaniel, the current Merced County supervisor representing district 3, received about $1,000 in campaign donations in 2021, records show. The single $1,000 donation came from Merced veterinarian J.L. Byerly.

Former Atwater City Councilmember and current Mayor Paul Creighton, who dropped out of the Merced County Board of Supervisors district 3 election, did not file a statement containing campaign contribution information before March 31, records show. The Merced County Elections Department database shows Creighton as the only other candidate in the Board of Supervisors race, despite the fact that he dropped out of the county race last August and also told the Sun-Star he did not plan to run for re-election in the Atwater mayor’s race.

Merced County District Attorney

The race for the Merced County District Attorney, perhaps one of the most notable races this election, is also attracting a significant amount of campaign contributions.

Nicole Silveira, currently the Chief Deputy District Attorney, garnered $38,100 through Dec. 31, according to campaign records. (She is not related to County Supervisor Scott Silveira.) Her brother, Adam Silveira, operations manager at Quality Well Drillers, gave $4,900, as did her sister, Merced Union High School District teacher Ashley Silveira. Her mother, Paulette Silveira, gave $4,900, and Adam Silveira’s company also gave $4,900, according to campaign finance records. Atwater-based Weimer Farms also contributed $4,900.

However, Silveira filed late contribution forms in March. These show that Nunes Farms contributed $3,000, Sacramento-based United Public Employees gave $2,700, and that Corbin Cash Distillery in Atwater contributed $2,000.

Silveira’s opponent, current Merced County District Attorney Kimberly Helms Lewis, raised $13,002.81 between July 1 and Dec. 31, bringing her total campaign contributions through the end of the year to $41,792.61. Lewis’s biggest contributor, Hollis Properties member Sharon Wainwright, gave $1,000 to Lewis’s campaign, records show.

Lewis also has late contribution filings from this month that show she received $1,000 each from Merced-based C. Logan McKechnie, Five Star Management and an individual named Harjinder Singh, as well as $3,500 from Cali Bros. Truck Lines, Inc. She also contributed $16,000 to her own campaign on March 9, records show.

Merced County Superintendent of Schools

Records also show Steve Tietjen, the incumbent Merced County Superintendent of Schools who is running for re-election, raised $2,800 between July 1 and Dec. 31, bringing his campaign contributions for the year to $23,500. One of his biggest funders to date is Merced law firm Robbins, Browning, Godwin & Marchini, who contributed $1,000 last year.

His competitor, Alberto Lopez Velarde, raised $2,007.72 during the last half of the year, bringing his campaign contributions total to $9,028.14 for 2021, campaign finance records show. It seems his biggest contributor was himself, as his campaign contribution form shows he contributed $949 to his own campaign last October.

Merced County Superior Court

No campaign contribution documents were available for the Merced County Superior Court races. Judge Carol K. Ash, Judge Donald J. Proietti, Judge David W. Moranda and Judge Paul C. Lo all filed candidate intention statements, none of which reflect any campaign contribution information.

Merced County Sheriff-Coroner

Vernon Warnke, the current Merced County Sheriff-Coroner, is also running for re-election unopposed. However, he did file campaign contribution forms, which show he raised $39,946 between July 1 and Dec. 31, the same total he raised all year last year. According to campaign finance records, his biggest contributors were farmers Marvin Nunes, who contributed $5,000 to Warnke’s campaign, Raj Kahlon, who gave $4,600, and Snelling rancher Joe Homen, who gave $3,400, including a $1,700 Pointer rifle.

Rodney Cosyn, manager of N&S Tractor, who contributed a total of $3,000, also donated an ice chest worth $500, according to Warnke’s campaign contribution form. Notably, the Merced County Law Enforcement Sergeants Association contributed $1,500 total over the course of 2021.

Merced County Assessor-Clerk-Recorder

Matt May, who is running for re-election in the Merced County Assessor-Clerk-Recorder race, raised $9,032.69 over the last half of 2021, which is also the total he raised over all of last year, campaign documents show. He is his own biggest campaign contributor, putting $902.69 into his campaign. Next to himself, one of the most notable contributors was Michael Gallo, CEO of Joseph Gallo Farms, who pitched in $500.

Merced County Auditor-Controller

There was no campaign funds information available for Lisa Cardella-Presto, the current Merced County Auditor-Controller who is running for re-election unopposed.

Merced County Treasurer-Tax Collector

Karen Adams, the current Treasurer-Tax Collector for Merced County, is running for re-election unopposed. Documents show that she raised $2,420 in campaign funds through Dec. 31, which is also the total amount she raised in all of 2021. Her biggest campaign donors were Michael and Lori Gallo of Joseph Gallo Farms. They contributed $900. Merced attorney Corbett Browning was the next biggest contributor, at $500.

Merced Irrigation District Board

Similarly, no campaign finance information was available for Mario G. Bandoni, who is running unopposed for Merced Irrigation District Board district 2. Campaign funding information was also not available for Eric J. Cabral, who is running for MID seat 4, and Robert Weimer, the current MID board president who is running for re-election for MID seat 5.

This story was originally published April 1, 2022 at 5:00 AM.